Introduction: Shimano continues to round
out their rod offering with the release of their highest end rod to date, the
Cumara. The Cumara features some of the elements that made the Crucial popular
but adds in an extra level of refinement with a touch of enthusiast import
style. We fish the Cumara for over six months, and our field tests take us from
El Salto, Mexico to Clear Lake, back to our home water on the California Delta,
and full circle back to El Salto again.

Shimano
CUC68M Specifications

Material

IM-10 Graphite

Length

6'8"

Length
of Rear Grip

9"

Line Wt.

6 - 12 lb

Lure Rating

1/4 -
1/2oz

Pieces

one

Guides

9 guides + tip (bottom
4 double
footed)

Power Rating

Medium

Taper

Fast

Rod Weight

3.1 ounces

MSRP

$199.99

Impressions:
Shimano rods have
come up quickly
backed by a strong
channel, and one of
the best lifetime
warranties in the
industry. But
warranty alone does
not make a rod a
winner among bassers
that place severe
demands on their
application specific
rods. The Clarus
rods proved that
Shimano could make a
competitive rod at a
price point that
really made it among
the top values at
the time.

The
Shimano Cumara's logo represents the spines on bass

The higher positioned Compre
rods while more feature rich than the Clarus found itself going head to head
with tough competition at the near 100 dollar price point. That’s when the
Crucial came in, and won over many anglers that up to this point would have
rather put their Shimano reels on a competitor’s rod. The Crucial rods offered a
unique blend of features and custom style that made it an instant hit among
anglers looking for a quality rod worthy of their high end Shimano reels, yet
didn’t cost an arm and a leg.

The
split grip and shaped EVA showcase the rod's enthusiast tone

Crucial rods are constructed
with light, powerful IM9 Graphite that makes them responsive, sensitive and
light in your hand. All guides are top quality Fuji Alconite Guides with
lightweight frames. To this day the Crucial rods remain among the best values in
the industry retailing for 129 dollars, but are still not premium enough to
compete with the higher end sticks from popular Tier 1 rod brands like G.Loomis and
St. Croix.

The
Cumara has a custom reel seat that offers copious access to the blank

It was just two ICAST’s ago
that Daiwa also solidified its position in the US premium rod space by
delivering their most high end rods to date, the very enthusiast oriented Steez
Graphite and Compile-X
series. The Steez leapfrogged their already popular Light and Tough rods and
Cielo bass rods in
terms of design, style, and performance. With the
enthusiast rod market in the US maturing the Steez was a dream come true
for Daiwa fans looking for a home for their premium magnesium based TD-Z and
matching Steez reels. At that time many Shimano fans contacted us wondering if there was
something from the Shimano camp on the way to compete with the Steez rods, but
what we also received was an overwhelming number of questions as to when a
higher end
magnesium reel from the company would arrive.

Only
under the bright sun can you see the actual fibers of this IM-10 blank

Shimano fans finally got what
they were asking for in a magnesium reel with the introduction of the Core.
Though Shimano engineers denied that the Cumara was designed to match the new
reel, the parallel launch of the new rods came at the perfect time. Debuted at El
Salto last June, these rods offered Shimano fans a new flagship rod, and one
that like the Steez, was designed to be both lighter and more sensitive than the
competition.

The
Cumara has a very small EVA foregrip

The Cumara
“ultra-performance” bass rod series is specifically designed for bottom bouncing
techniques and features IM-10 graphite blanks, Fuji® Sic guides and custom
performance reel seats that completely expose the blank. There are eight rods in
the casting series, and they range from 6’8” to 7’2” in length. This is not a
very big spread and most of the rods are differentiated primarily by power and
action.

The
reel seat is shaved to a minimum and still able to hold reels very secure

Turning our attention to the
initial impressions of the rod’s outlook the Cumara features a paint finish that
looks different under various lighting. In low light the blank looks dark blue,
almost black. In morning light you can see colored flakes and the blank takes on
a pearlish blue tone, and under harsh sunlight you can see the actual fiber of
the blank. I prefer rods that have a matte finish with less gloss because of the
added weight of the gloss and the sometimes reduced feel. The Cumara does have a
layer of gloss to protect the blank but it is very thin, so that it doesn’t
significantly impact the rod weight or deaden the feel of the rod.

Though
Shimano Product Managers cay both products were created independently the Core
looks (and feels) like the perfect match for the Cumara